ANSWER THE DAMNED QUESTION!

Am I the only one who is fed up with politicians, not only lying but, deliberately failing to answer any question put to them? I know it is and old and much repeated question but surely the British public, like me, are truly sick to the back teeth with it. What is the point of Question Time or Sunday Politics or even the Daily Politics Show when we get the same rhetoric time after time after time. Is it any wonder that this country is is stuck in the rut of apathy?

The media are as much to blame as the MPs. They are in the unique position of being able to demand better from our elected elite either through the tabloids or, through the various TV and radio channels. That we have a totally biased national broadcasting service doesn’t help but the commercial channels could and should do more to redress the balance.

I do understand that the career of an MP depends entirely upon him or her getting re-elected. To do this they have to show the electorate and especially their own constituents that they are doing the very best for them. It follows, therefore, that they have to play their cards very close to their collective chests. This was not needed when politics was a vocation because the passion and belief in what was right or wrong in good government shone through. So much so that the British Parliament was known as “The Mother of All Parliaments” and held up as a beacon of true democracy throughout the World. Alas, this was not to last. The seeds of demise started, in my opinion, during Harold Macmillan’s tenure as Prime Minister. It was he who tried to drag this country into Europe; what was then the European Economic Community. This attempt was, thankfully, thwarted by a spiteful and bitter French president.

I believe that it is this obsession with Europe that turned the tide in the direction of the ‘professional politician’. Here we have a breed of people who truly believe that they know better than the people who elected them. It goes further, their psyche is so conditioned that they will have no truck with anything which detracts them from their goal. Unfortunately the ‘majority’ are often kept in the dark and, when they are eventually made aware of events, find themselves wallowing in the wake of some dastardly Parliamentary decision.

Being a member of the United Kingdom Independence Party it would be easy for me to cite the lack of any offer of a referendum concerning our membership of the EU as a classic example of the behaviour of present day British politicians. I believe though that it goes much deeper and is much more sinister and involved. Take for example this winter’s flooding of the Somerset Levels, the devastation through bad weather in the South West, the flooding along the River Thames. This was down to professional politics and the afore mentioned obsession with the EU.

Top of the queue for criticism of their handling of these crises is the Environment Agency. Contrary to popular belief it was the Tories, under John Major, who established the Environment Agency in 1996. In 1998 the Agency was heavily heavily criticised after one months rain fell at Easter causing severe flooding in the Midlands, leaving five people dead and causing £400m damage. It would appear that despite £millions being spent on revues and reports, the Agency has either, learned nothing or has chosen to ignore the costly recommendations trolled out on a seemingly regular basis since then.

Is the Agency entirely to blame? I would say no, not entirely. Lucrative subsides offered by the EU and encouraged by the government has meant that money has been diverted from where it is actually needed and used instead to protect flora and fauna. very noble one might argue but set this against the loss of agricultural production through unnecessary flooding coupled with the cost of cleaning up afterwards and the high food and commodity prices which are sure to follow. Trust me, you will not get a straight answer from any present day politician about this crisis.

Neither will you get a truthful answer concerning the fate of our Armed Forces. In 1990 we had just under three hundred and six thousand full time members of the Armed Services. By 2011 this had dropped to one hundred and eighty six and a half thousand. The average cost per service personnel in 1990 was £115,399, this figure almost doubled in 2011 even though the number of service personnel had dropped by just under 40%. The MOD will tell you that we now have a more mobile, better equipped, better trained and an Armed Service better suited to the modern World.

The truth in both cases is that the country is run by accountants, not a bad thing, you might argue. However set this against the true needs of the British people. Did you vote for your Local Councillor or Politician on the basis that they would close services on the basis of cost or, did you vote for them to act on your behalf in a sensible way and find an alternative, albeit a cost effective alternative to random closures? As it is your money, collected through taxes, be they local or national, would you not expect whoever you voted for to act responsibly in all respects and, at the very least, give a truthful explanation as to why he or she acted/voted in a certain way in Council or government when deciding how to best spend your cash? The answer of course is yes.

So, I go back to my opening paragraph. If like me you are fed up with being lied to, not having reasonable questions answered, seeing politicians being constantly ‘let of the hook’ by interviewers. Why are you putting up with it? It is time to take a stand, the obvious starting point is the ballot box but, I hazard to suggest, we can all start by voicing our disgust and dismay with these charlatans through our social media accounts.

It is all very well assuring us that the present incumbents of the Palace of Westminster have declared their outside financial interests to the various Commons Watchdog Committees but, the EU trough runs long and deep. In order to keep their noses firmly entrenched in said trough our elected elite have to be economical with the truth, skilled at turning fact into fiction and vice versa. They also have to have a complete paucity of care for the people who elected them.

In short, we are not going to get straight answers to our questions. The disease has spilled over into the Civil Service and is fast infecting the Private Sector. We need a complete clear out and my fear is that unless we get out of the insidious EU soon we will have a plague of misfortune not seen since Noah’s time.